The Official Blog of the Independent Community of Educators, a caucus of the United Federation of Teachers

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Committee At Jamaica Vows to Fight on After UFT Gives us Away

The following is an excerpt from something sent out to the Jamaica email list. Help us if you can as this is positively a call for assistance. Jamaica was the only one of the nineteen schools originally slated for closure, that were saved by the courts, to have two new schools started inside its building in September in this latest giveaway from the UFT to the DOE (we already have another school inside that is growing).

Hi Everyone,

We suffered a setback today when the DOE-UFT agreed to co-locate the two new schools in our building for September and the UFT agreed not to sue. It is hard to believe how we were stabbed in the back by the UFT. They didn't even have the decency to consult with us before they allowed the DOE to move new schools into our building.

I must admit that I was caught off guard. I thought the whole process to significantly change the usage of a building was supposed to be done with full community input. Isn't that what the new governance law and the lawsuit the UFT just won were all about? That seems to have been ignored. It appears our union will ignore the law when it wants to just like the DOE.

Let's understand that we are still open as a school but we are much smaller now with three small schools taking over our building. DOE promised support but not money.

Seven of us: four teachers, a retiree, PTA President and a community activist met tonight to discuss our options. Our work was covered by a local reporter. The sentiment of the meeting was to be defiant and not give up the fight for our school.

Right now we need incoming students to fill seats or else the DOE will continue to insist there is room in our building for new schools. We plan on continuing to pursue our attempt to get contact information from the DOE of students in our zone so we can publicize Jamaica as an alternative to overcrowded Queens High Schools.

After the meeting, I contacted important people who might be able to assist us legally. Any strategy will not work, however, unless we have full support of the Jamaica High School community!

22 comments:

Anonymous
said...

According to Anna Phillip's article, "City and union agree to fewer school colocations in September," Metropolitan Corporate Academy's incoming class currently has only 8 students on the rosters, but the city expects that number to grow when students who change schools or move to the city are assigned to the school over the summer. That is the reason MCA will not have to share its building with another school. Jamaica HS's freshman class is currently 3 times the size of MAC's, but 2 new schools are still being placed in Jamaica HS. I didn't read anything about the DOE planning on assigning new students to Jamaica HS. Why not?

It's remarkable that people can be so flip and cute while facing school closures that affect not only James, but UFT members across the spectrum. No wonder Bill Gates can speak at the AFT convention and attack teacher pensions the next.

I am appalled by the callousness and ignorance reflected in that remark.

INSIDE THE UNITY CAUCUS: Did Mulgrew and Ellie Engler cover up for the principal at the drowning school? That is what was being discussed all day yesterday in a furious exchange of emails and phone calls at 52 Broadway. Top union staffers even reached out to Randi to get Mulgrew out of his pickle-or was it to hang him? Mulgrew doesn’t know which back stabber on his staff to trust. Engler is “this close” to Randi. Today’s Post said teachers sent the UFT information about safety issues-before the drowning- involving the principal but that the union did not forward to the complaints to DOE.For real? So the family should know they can now sue Mulgrew because he covered up for the principal (nothing new there; his motto is “Principals Rule. Teachers Suck.”)The question is what did Mulgrew and Engler get out of the deal? Jobs at the schools? Jobs at other schools? This is a major, major cover up story. Mulgrew has no interest in going after horrible principals but this time it appears to have bitten him on his ass. What did Mulgrew and Engler ( a non-teacher by the way) know and when did they know it? The Times and Wall Street Journal reported that two days after the drowning, teachers met at the UFT and gave the union documents about the principal, which the union kept at 52 Broadway and did not forward to Condon! Is this a bad movie? Mulgrew allows a teacher to get fired but doesn’t demand that the principal walk the plank? Wow- all this for double zero raises? Mulgrew and the a..s s.. kissers in his circle must be getting more out of these cover ups than flying on the mayor’s jet.This is what happens when Mulgrew hired a CSA person as his Chief Bottle Washer. Teachers should post the documents they sent to the UFT.

Will the Lord God tell us why Betsy was fired?That is if Judas Escariot Mulgrew let's him have his culliones back for one minute. Do the Unity boy toys really leave them in a jar on Mulgrews' desk, like Randi did, until they retire?

Yes, stand up and fight, but only the rank and file can do it for and ny themselves, and it doesn't look good. Maybe too long on the conveyor belt of life, or something to that effect.

We need to contribute $$$ to firms that will fight:

-Sue Ch. Slime when he started slandering ATRs 4 years ago in collusion with the tabloids here. This was clear-cut slander when he said that the unhired ATRs aren't hirable. At least he wouldn't feel so freee to run his evil mouth with impunity.-Sue admins. who were proven to have made totally false accusations against rubber room inmates and other teachers.

When Mayor Scumberg started getting annoying with the cops, Mr. Lynch decided to do something called "fighting." Suddenly off duty cops started tailing Scumberg EVERYWHERE he went, both early in the morning, AND late at night. For some reason Scumberg became QUITE rattled by this process. Having 50 cops standing on every corner all day and night long bugged the shit out of him. So because of this, someone told me that since then,Lynch tells Scumberg to jump, and Scumberg asks "how high?" Also, the Fire Dept. union guy screams LOUD when he speaks . . . and what do we get for years?

ALL THE LOCAL TV STATIONS ARE BIDDING FOR THE PAY PER VIEW TUSSLE BETWEEN BRONX REP JOSE VARGAS AND BIG BAD LEROY ("LET'S TAKE IT OUTSIDE NORM")BROWN BARR OVER THE $150,000 PLUS d.o.e. JOBS THAT Klein promised Mulgrew as a not so subtle bribe to keep the dogs at bay this year. Mulgrew is in the middle of negotitations with these two (the members? what members?) so everyone gets their fair share of the boodle. THat is the latest from Unity. Gentile is rumored to be quitting.

Mulgrew and his think tankers -when they were not in the tank for Bloomberg- spent all day today trying to devise a strategy for the Merrick debacle. AFter six hours, nobody had any ideas that wouldnt get Bloomberg so upset that he would give us quadruple zeros.so then- ready? one of the lawyers suggested a lawsuit! nice work for the outside counsels.what happened to the age discrimination lawsuit? LEO CASEY LEAVING FOR D.C. RANDI IS LONELY NOW THAT LOUDMOUTH ZAHLER GOT RuN OUT OF THE A.F.T. REPLACEMENT WILL COME FROM BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOLS.WHY WAS BETSY FIRED?WILL she TELL ALL AND PLAY HER TAPES? WHAT HAPPPENED TO THE TIME SHEETS OF THE QUEENS UNITY BIGWIG SHE WAS PROBING IN 2007?

IF BETSY WASN'T FIRED, AS SHE HAS TOLD PEOPLE, DID SHE QUIT? WHY? WHERE IS SHE?WHY IS SHE NO LONGER AT THE UFT? DOES ANYIONE IN THE QUEENS UFT OFFICE KNOOW? OR DOES ANYINE IN THE NITWIT LAWYER'S OFFICE KNOW? LOUDMOUTH ZAHLER PROBABLY KNOWS.

Additionally the Department of Labor provides other reports about the UFT. Go to their site and input file number 063-924 at the top and select the type of report you want to review. These files are in spreadsheet format.